What You Need to Graduate

All degree-seeking graduate students must submit a plan of study detailing all of the courses they will take in order to complete the degree program:

• Master's students: submit by the end of your second semester
• Doctoral students: submit by the end of your third semester

The plan of study must be approved by the academic department/program and the Graduate School. Refer to the Graduate Catalog for policies and requirements.

Doctoral students must also pass their Preliminary Examination at least 6 months prior to their final examination. To schedule a preliminary examination, doctoral students must submit the preliminary exam request at least two weeks before the desired preliminary exam date in the Graduate School's Signature Approval System.  

You must enroll in at least three credit hours in your last semester to receive a degree, unless you qualify for the start-of-semester defense exception. 

Submit a Degree or Certificate Conferral Request (Application for Degree or Certificate) online using Hokie SPA. A $25 fee will be charged to your student account. If you receive an error, you can also initiate the application for degree process by completing and submitting this pdf form.

Your diploma will bear your official name in university records. Check your official name in the system and submit a name change request if you need to make any corrections. 

International students may generate an invitation letter for commencement for their family members to seek B-2 visitor visas. You must submit your Degree or Certificate Conferral Request first and complete the Commencement Attendance Form before requesting invitation letters. Access the request form through Hokie Spa, Graduate Student Degree Menu.

If you are unable to complete all degree requirements during the semester you indicated on your Degree or Certficate Conferral Request, you will need to submit a new request for the next term in which you wish to graduate.

Thesis or dissertation students must submit the final exam request at least two weeks before the desired exam date, using the "Create Final Exam/Evaluation Request" function in the Graduate School's Signature Approval System.  All your committee members must approve the request in the system before the Graduate School can process it. By their signature committee members verify that they will have read your thesis or dissertation before the scheduled exam date. The exam request must include the time, date, and place of the exam, as well as the title of your thesis or dissertation, and the names of your committee members. When the exam request is approved by the Graduate School, you and all your committee members will receive an email confirmation. Once your final exam request is approved, an ETD archiving fee of $20 will be charged to your student account. For doctoral students the final exam must be at least 6 months after they have passed the preliminary exam. 

Project and Report or Major Paper students should follow the same exam-scheduling procedure as thesis or dissertation students. You will not be charged an ETD archiving fee and you do not submit your project/paper through the ETD Submission and Approval process.

Coursework-only students need to use the same system to schedule the departmental confirmation of their degree completion, at least two weeks in advance of the evaluation date, following these steps:

1. Login with VT PID and password.
2. Select New Exam.
3. Complete the examination information section by entering as the exam (evaluation) date the first Monday after the last day of exams for your graduation semester; 8:00am; main departmental office/building; check box for enrollment. You can verify the last day of exams on the registrar's website.
4. Confirm the correctness of your student information.
5. Confirm graduate committee members and their email address.
6. Save exam request -- this submits the request to the Graduate School and triggers a notice to your committee.
7. You do not need to attend a meeting with your committee on the evaluation date; rather, the committee will review your academic record and confirm your completion.

Thesis and dissertation students only: After you receive notification from the Graduate School that your exam request was approved, take your final exam on the scheduled date. Your committee members will sign off on your final exam pass or fail in the Graduate School's Signature Approval System.

Make the necessary corrections to your electronic thesis or dissertation (ETD) and upload it within two weeks of your exam/defense date in the Graduate School's Signature Approval System, along with any supporting documents such as copyright permission letters, IRB approval or exemption notices, or Survey of Earned Doctorates. All of your committee members will have to review and approve your ETD before the Graduate School's final ETD review and approval.

Watch the video below for more information about the process.

Use the degree menu in HokieSPA to indicate whether or not you plan to attend the commencement ceremony. Master's candidates may participate whether they have finished all requirements or not for their intended semester of graduation. Doctoral candidates are hooded on stage, so they must complete all requirements by the posted deadlines in order to participate in the hooding ceremony.

International students may generate an invitation letter for commencement for their family members to seek B-2 visitor visas. You must submit your Degree or Certificate Conferral Request first and complete the Commencement Attendance Form before requesting invitation letters. Access the request form through Hokie Spa, Graduate Student Degree Menu.

Diplomas are ordered on Fridays after your degree is awarded by the Graduate School (usually within 4-6 weeks after you have completed all degree requirements, including departmental approval of your ETD)  and mailed to you directly from the printing company to the diploma address on file in your student record.